‘Will be power sufficient if old PPAs are scrapped’

Andhra Pradesh will be power sufficient if the old Purchase Power Agreements (PPA) are scrapped and the new proposal is taken into consideration, said Director (Operation) of Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Corporation Limited (APEPDCL) P. Rama Mohan.

In an interaction with The Hindu, he said as per the proposed PPA the State would not only get about 400 to 600 MW extra power from the existing set-up, but the power that is likely to be generated from thermal power plant project that is coming up on fast-track basis at Krishnapatnam will augment the supply. At Krishnapatnam, Nellore district, two 800 MW coal-based super critical thermal power units are being built by Andhra Pradesh Power Development Company Limited.

“In the first phase one 800 MW unit is likely to be commissioned in a couple of months and both together, we will have 1600 MW, which is sufficient to clear the deficit that we have in the demand and supply equation,” said Mr. Rama Mohan.

On the coal linkage problem at APGENCO plants, he said APEPDCL had been receiving about 600 MW short from GENCO and the shortfall was being managed by purchasing power at a higher cost from naphtha-based private power plants.

Right now the present demand of APEPDCL is about 2,144 MW per day and the supply is about 1,800 MW.

Mr. Rama Mohan said the power generation at hydel plants has almost come to standstill due to lack of rains and owing to the extended summer the demand has increased. “Due to the extended summer, the load factor has increased from 50 per cent to 90 per cent, when compared to the corresponding period of earlier years,” he said.

He also confirmed that the three-hour power cut for cities and four hours in the rural areas would continue for some more time.

Slideshow

Workers carryingout repairs to Visakhapatnam District Collector's Office, as it was damaged in Cyclone Hudhud in 2014 October. The majestic heritage building was designed and built by Dutch engineering company Gannon Dunkerly in 1865 and completed by 1914. Photos: C.V. Subrahmanyam